Susan Walsh - The Classification Guru

Fixer of dirty data ★ Spend data classification, supplier normalisation, and taxonomies ★ DataIQ100 x 2 ★DataIQ Data Champion 2022★ Author "Between the Spreadsheets" ★ Creator of COAT ★ TEDx - say NO to NO ★ DataVenger

I’m Susan Walsh, also known as The Classification Guru, a globally recognised expert in spend data classification, cleaning, and transformation. For over a decade, I’ve helped organisations fix dirty, unreliable data and turn it into insight they can actually trust.

In 2017, I founded The Classification Guru Ltd, rebuilding my career from the ground up after coming back from bankruptcy after my first business failed. What started as a solo consultancy has grown into a specialist business supporting 100+ organisations globally, particularly in procurement, sales, and marketing, where clean data underpins reporting, automation, and AI.

I work with mid-sized and enterprise organisations, consultancies, and technology providers that rely on complex, high-volume data but struggle with inconsistency, duplication, and poor structure. My clients include procurement, finance, sales, and marketing teams who need data they can stand behind, whether that’s for spend analysis, supplier management, CRM reporting, forecasting, compliance, or AI initiatives.

Keeping a business alive and growing for almost nine years hasn’t been about shortcuts or hype. It’s been built through real-world delivery, practical problem-solving, and a refusal to accept “good enough” data as acceptable. Along the way, I’ve developed frameworks and tools to help organisations embed sustainable data quality, including the COAT framework (Consistent, Organised, Accurate, Trustworthy) and Samification, a self-service supplier normalisation platform launched in 2024 to make clean, structured data accessible at scale.

I’m also an active contributor to the wider data and business community. I’m a TEDx speaker, international conference speaker, and recognised thought leader in data quality and classification. I’ve authored three books, including Between the Spreadsheets 1st and 2nd editions, and the upcoming Optimizing Sales and Marketing. I teach globally via platforms such as Pluralsight, O’Reilly, and the Analytics Institute. Through consistent, practical thought leadership, I’ve grown an engaged LinkedIn audience of 43,000+ professionals.

Alongside my commercial work, I founded the Women Who Speak LinkedIn group, a free initiative connecting women speakers with event organisers to improve visibility and representation. I hope my journey shows that you don’t have to fit a mould to build a credible business, lead in your field, or create meaningful impact.

My mission is simple: help organisations move from spreadsheet chaos to clean, organised, trustworthy data that actually works.

Founder/MD (Mistress of Data)

I love improving the quality of procurement spend data, giving teams clarity so they can make better business decisions and cost savings.

Why not let me take the pain out of laborious data issues and make your life easier?

Whether it's a small or large data set, the accuracy can be improved by identifying classification errors, conflicts or gaps. I can provide a data verification service to efficiently find and correct these in a fraction of the time it would take you or a team member.

And a crucial part of having accurate data is also working with a comprehensive taxonomy, something that can be easily overlooked. I can provide a taxonomy development service to ensure you have all the vital areas covered for the greatest visibility - job done!

If you struggle with the time, resources or willingness to tackle your data, why not get in touch to see how I can make your life easier.

Who does quiet, easing back into work in January? Not me!

Just had a wonderful evening up in London meeting Adita Karkera, Ph.D. and lots of fabulous ladies from Women In Data™️

Gonna need a lie in tomorrow now 🤣🤣

Thanks Shubhangi Goyal for organising and Samir Sharma for being an honorary woman in data! 

The Classification Guru Ltd Samification

Susan Walsh

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Ok 2026, I may not be ready, but let’s do this!

When you work for yourself there’s very few h&s measures in place, like a warm workplace.

I woke up to -4 outside and not much different inside, even with the heating on, so whoever gets on call with me today will find me like this. #sorrynotsorry

The Classification Guru Ltd Samification

I asked ChatGPT one question: "Based on our interactions, how could I be leveraging you more?"

Because I want to work smarter, not harder this year.

And the answer wasn't, “write more posts faster," it was slightly unexpected - AI works best before things are polished, not after.

Which basically means that even with AI, I'm still a control freak, not delegating until the last minute, so that's something I'll be working on this year.

Here’s the recommendations I'll be taking forward:

 • Using it as a thinking partner, not just a writing tool
 • Pressure-testing ideas before they’re fully formed
 • Acting as an editor with opinions, not just a spellchecker
 • Repurposing one solid idea into multiple formats
 • Being a built-in “so what?” detector
 • Exploring bolder positioning without committing to it publicly
 • Preparing for talks, panels, and conversations earlier, not at the last minute

The biggest shift for me? Bringing AI in when things are messy, not when they’re “ready”. Drafts, fragments, half-formed opinions… that’s where the real leverage is.

So tell me, where in your workflow could AI take more of the heavy lifting, so you stay in your zone of genius? 

Why not try this prompt or a variation and let me know!

The Classification Guru Ltd Samification

Have you met the Dirty Data Villains?

Every dataset has them.
Some are obvious. Some hide in plain sight.
Together, they’re responsible for broken reports, failed joins, messy dashboards, and far too many “why doesn’t this match?” moments.

Here’s the current Dirty Data Villains lineup 👇

🟡 Rogue Punctuation
Commas, apostrophes, periods, and symbols turning up where they don’t belong. Breaking imports, splitting values, and causing errors that are frustratingly hard to spot.

⬜ Sneaky Spaces
Invisible troublemakers lurking at the beginning or end of values. The reason your “exact matches” aren’t exact and your duplicates refuse to reveal themselves.

👯 Duplicate Dan
The master of cloning. Same customer, same supplier, same invoice… entered twice (or more), often with just enough variation to avoid detection.

🔤 Typo Tracey
One wrong letter is all she needs. Misspellings, swapped characters, missing letters — causing failed lookups, bounced emails, and embarrassing mistakes.

📅 Format Fred
The chaos king of inconsistency. Dates, phone numbers, and text fields all formatted differently across systems, making automation and reporting painful.

💥 Why they matter
These villains don’t just make data messy; they undermine trust. And without trust, data can’t be relied on for decisions, insights, or AI.

The good news?
Once you can name them, you can spot them.
And once you can spot them, you can clean them.

More villains may be lurking… but for now, this is your most wanted list.  And if you need some help identifying them, ask me about our new data diagnostic service, more details coming soon!

Which Dirty Data Villain causes you the most pain?  And who would you add?

📘 Two books
📉 Big discounts
📊 Cleaner, calmer, more trustworthy data

Get more Susan for less!

🟣 Between the Spreadsheets from Facet Publishing – 20% off using NEW20
🔴 Optimizing Sales & Marketing Data from Kogan Page Publishing – 40% off with SALE40

What you’ll actually learn:

💡How to spot dirty data before it wrecks reporting
💡Practical ways to fix duplicates, inconsistencies, and naming chaos
💡Why “the tech will fix it” usually doesn’t
💡How to build data you can trust for decisions, automation, and AI
💡Real-world lessons from projects, not fluffy theory

If you’re wrestling with messy data, unreliable dashboards, or a CRM that feels held together with hope and pivot tables, these will save you time, frustration, and a few awkward meetings.

Built on real client work. Powered by the COAT framework. Zero nonsense.

Grab them while the discounts are live!

Shoutout to some fellow authors Jordan Morrow Tiankai Feng Nicola Askham Caroline Carruthers Kristen Kehrer Roberto Maranca Albert Bellamy Keith McCabe (MCIPS) Samir Sharma Dr. Joe Perez

The Classification Guru Ltd Samification

Stirista

🔸 LBDigital audiences are are available in Stirista Audience Solutions. Always unique, accurate & scalable!
🔸 Infusing strategy into marketing campaigns with…data, technology, experience & attention.
🔸 Data & technology all under one roof saves brands time & money, making multichannel campaigns & retargeting a breeze.
🔸 Capabilities: 
     DSP specializing in premium CTV inventory; 
     ESP deliverable for large-volume 1st and 3rd party data sends; 
     CDP with lifecycle analysis proven to increase brand ROI; 
     Data for targeting, identity graphs, daily feeds, modeling, & measurement.

AVPS

LBDigital

📈 LBDigital and its "Third party data that doesn't suck 🥤" has been acquired by Stirista.
📈 LBDigital has been building better audiences for marketers with dynamic multi-channel data since 2005. 
📈 Our consultative approach and out-of-the-box solutions have powered successful campaigns for premier business and consumer brands.

President

📈Lead a data community that advances the myriad of opportunities and challenges that make data and responsible data practices the lifeblood of 1:1 business and consumer marketing, with a focus on earning consumer trust. 
📈Organized and participated in webinars and meetings, recruiting new members.

Co-Chair DMA Data Community

The Catamount Group

📈Started data and marketing sales division and grew it to $2,500,000 annual sales with 2 employees in 3 years, with direct responsibility for revenue generation and staff management.  
📈Penetrated corporate infrastructures to develop relationships with top-level media planners at premier advertising agencies and marketing companies, expanding market reach.

Vice President

Novus Marketing Group

📈Lead list sales teams for 10+ premiere publishing clients generating $14,000,000 annual revenues. 
📈Maintained primary client contact, spearheaded all outbound sales prospecting efforts and existing mailer relationships.

Senior Account Executive

Mal Dunn Associates

📈Managed data sales team and consistently exceeded the annual budget of $10,000,000.  
📈Built a strong industry network via sales visits, trade shows, industry events, and phone conversations.

"The road to success is paved with accurate data and domain knowledge."

Brands trust me for data-driven strategies that boost their acquisition and retention results. Between email activation, identity graphs, and digital marketing initiatives, I help brands navigate an ever-evolving marketing landscape and maximize performance across channels.

Three decades of activating data isn’t about staying still—it’s about constant evolution. What began with direct mail expanded into email, digital, social, display, mobile, audio, gaming, DOOH, and CTV. Staying ahead of these shifts has been key to navigating an ever-changing marketing landscape.

Through every evolution, one thing remains constant—data is power. Let’s connect and talk growth!

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Susan Walsh - The Classification Guru's LinkedIn Performance

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